Meet our Guatemala partner, Melissa
It is our pleasure to introduce to you Melissa Ordoñez, the Coordinator at Centro Educativo Preciosos Momentos, Guatemala. This is her story.
Tell us more about your life and family:
My name is Melissa Ordoñez, but my students know me as Miss Mely.
I was born in Guatemala City on June 24, 1987. I studied teaching in primary education and specialized in educational administration. When I was 16, I started working with children. I got married and had two daughters Emely, 9, and Valentina, 6, but God had different plans for my life; 5 years ago, my husband passed away of cancer after having fought for 4 years with chemotherapy. My life changed and my parents were my support in that process. By the will of God, my life became focused on social service and education after coming out of depression and anxiety in such a painful process God enlightened my way.
How and when did you get involved with the school?
My life has always been involved in helping people. Since I can remember, my mother has always helped people and her heart has always been with underprivileged children, which motivated me to follow in her footsteps. I donated my time and effort to Precious Moments, which was born in 2000 with a nursery, to support single mothers, widows and the homeless, who were looking for a livelihood for their children. The need was so great that in 2003 the legal permit for the center was processed, managing to have pre-primary and complete primary.
God has guided us here and without thinking that one day I would be in the place of a widowed mother fighting for her children, God prepared me to work with that same feeling and with the same empathy and difficulties because it has not been easy but, God has provided in the ministry and to our family as we work donating our time and space.
After so much struggle and inconvenience along the way, God allowed me to process the permit and be legally the Director before the Ministry of Education of the Government of Guatemala and thus be able to continue providing a decent education with Christian principles and values at an affordable cost for these women. that day by day they struggle to get ahead.
What are the needs and challenges that the children and their families face?
Most of the needs that our children face are family disintegration, whether it be separation or the loss of some of their parents. The biggest challenge is the scarce resources available at home since the father or mother must work long hours or night shifts to support the family. During the pandemic time, we had an increase in cases of family violence including child abuse; this has even affected the behaviour of several of our students.
How are CCI and the school helping the children, their families, and the community?
Support for children at this time is extremely important, and thanks to Child Care International, students will have a quality education throughout the school year.
This also helps the community because we are educating children with basic knowledge and in the future, they will be efficient citizens who serve their community.
Have you got plans or projects for the future?
We would like to start a skill and trades program that trains students for the future with basic knowledge such as mechanics, computers, cooking, different crafts, and carpentry. We want to ensure that they have the opportunity to generate more income for their family and their community.
We want to expand our facilities to have enough space to continue with our projects.
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